SACSCOC Grants Bob Jones University Regional Accreditation

It announced their Candidacy status.

As of today, 06/15/2017, it was just announced that they are no longer just a Candidate. They now have Regional Accreditation:

GREENVILLE, S.C., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Board of Trustees of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) today granted Bob Jones University membership as an accredited institution.

“Being granted regional accreditation is one of the biggest milestones in Bob Jones University’s 90-year history,” says BJU President Steve Pettit. “We set out to obtain regional accreditation and strengthen our mission and, by God’s grace, we’ve accomplished both objectives.”

https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/06/15/1024998/0/en/SACSCOC-GRANTS-BOB-JONES-UNIVERSITY-REGIONAL-ACCREDITATION.html

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“Today, June 15, BJU was granted regional accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC).

“Being granted regional accreditation is one of the biggest milestones in Bob Jones University’s 90-year history,” says BJU President Steve Pettit. “We set out to obtain regional accreditation and strengthen our mission and, by God’s grace, we’ve accomplished both objectives.”

http://www.bju.edu/news/2017-06-accreditation.php

Congratulations to Mr. Pettit for all he has been able to accomplish over the last several years. It has positioned BJU well for the future.

I’m so glad this has finally happened and to see another weakly-based “conviction” disappear. I only wish it could be retroactive to help those grads who were denied opportunities because they had an unaccredited degree. BTW, I know that’s impossible : )

"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan

[Larry Nelson]

For anyone who may be wondering:

BJU’s regional accreditation is retroactive to January 2017.”

http://www.bju.edu/news/2017-06-accreditation.php#faq

I am not sure if this matters much. This is a typical requirement, for showing that you have credits from a regionally accredted college:

“In most cases these credits must also appear on the transcript of a regionally-accredited, four year institution of higher education”

“After shunning accreditation for most of its 90-year history, Bob Jones University in the past six years has made achieving the designation a top priority.

On Thursday, the university officially earned regional accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

The change means more doors will be open throughout the nation to BJU graduates who want to attend graduate school, according to BJU officials.

Students will find it easier to transfer credits to other colleges and universities. Plus, some scholarships are available only for students attending accredited universities.

The boost in prestige also could help BJU’s own student recruitment efforts.

“Being granted regional accreditation is one of the biggest milestones in Bob Jones University’s 90-year history,” BJU President Steve Pettit said in a news release.

“We’re deeply grateful for our faculty and staff and proud of what they’ve accomplished through this process,” said Gary Weier, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.

“We believe regional accreditation reassures parents, prospective and current students, employers and other universities that Bob Jones University provides a high-quality education,” he said.

The BJU Board of Trustees, for its part, resisted accreditation for 84 years before voting in December 2011 to pursue accreditation.

Former BJU President Stephen Jones saw the need for regional accreditation and won the support of the board, said university spokesman Randy Page.

The decision came in the midst of declining enrollment and after complaints from some alumni who found difficulty getting into graduate schools or obtaining professional certifications in some states.

In 2006, BJU’s student enrollment was 4,800. Today, enrollment is about 2,700, Page said.

BJU met the criteria for accreditation without sacrificing the autonomy cherished by the university and its supporters throughout its history, Page said.

The university did not have to make any changes to its curriculum or rules for student, faculty or staff behavior as part of its application process, Page said. It also did not have to modify its Bible-based policies, its hiring practices or its biblical worldview, he said.

“We set out to obtain regional accreditation and strengthen our mission and, by God’s grace, we’ve accomplished both objectives,” Pettit said in a statement.

Regional accreditation “will show prospective employers a BJU education meets high standards and equips our graduates with skills needed in today’s world, and it could help graduates entering a profession where a regionally accredited degree is required for licensure or employment,” BJU said in a news release.

The path to BJU’s accreditation was an extensive, six-year-long process. Prior to applying for membership with SACS, BJU implemented a number of enhancements, including a new board and governance structure, new academic programs in health sciences, curriculum updates, intercollegiate athletics, and a completely renovated dining facility.

During the process, BJU went through evaluations provided by two peer review committees comprised of faculty and senior administrators from other SACS-member colleges and universities.

Before applying for regional accreditation, BJU chose more than 10 years ago to seek national accreditation through a religious accreditation agency.

BJU holds national accreditation through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools.

But SACS accreditation is more widely accepted as the standard by graduate schools, companies and many government agencies, Page said.

SACS is an accreditation agency for colleges and universities in the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia as well as Latin America and other international sites.

BJU offers more than 100 undergraduate and graduate programs, ranging from the humanities to professional degree programs such as accounting, nursing and engineering.”

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/news/2017/06/15/bob-jones-university-earns-accreditation-boosting-its-prestige/400317001/

Excerpt from the article “Educational Accreditation: Survival or Sellout?”:

“It is relatively easy for most Christians who believe the biblical command “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (II Corinthians 6:14) to understand that it is impossible for a school to obey the Lord and be a member of a regional accrediting association.” [emphasis added]

http://www.theprojector.org/projectors/mayjune1983.pdf [see article on pages 1 & 8]

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Much has changed in 34 years!

As the friend of many with degrees from unaccredited institutions that “qualify” them for things like moving furniture, I am very, very glad to see this. Glad to see BJU is owning the mistakes of her past in this area, and it is my hope and prayer that this trend will (per Joe’s comments and others) continue.

Aspiring to be a stick in the mud.

[Larry Nelson]

Much has changed in 34 years!

It is important to note that while BJU has indeed changed (mostly for the better), the accrediting agency has changed as well. They are not as concerned, as they once were, about what a school’s beliefs are. Now their primary concern is that a school be doing what is consistent with what they SAY they want to accomplish and how effective they are at doing so.

Donn R Arms

[Bert Perry]

As the friend of many with degrees from unaccredited institutions that “qualify” them for things like moving furniture, I am very, very glad to see this. Glad to see BJU is owning the mistakes of her past in this area, and it is my hope and prayer that this trend will (per Joe’s comments and others) continue.

I am glad that they did this, but I would not classify this as owning the mistakes of their past. Accreditation was not as important in the past. there are many more “for-profit” colleges and diploma mills out there than even just 10 years ago. This has caused most colleges to require regional accreditation to accept anything. They just don’t have time to dig through thousands of other colleges out there to figure out which are good and which are bad. In addition, the cost of education has gone up. It is harder to justify paying $25K a year for a degree that is going to run the graduate into problems. I think they should have started the process earlier, but when I was going to school in the early 90’s at BJU, accreditation was not as big of a deal. 100% of the premed students were getting into great med schools and accounting graduates had no problems getting jobs….

Chiming in late, but want to add my congratulations to BJU. I understand and respect both the reasons for avoiding accreditation in the past and the reasons for pursuing it now. I hope this milestone helps both the students and the institution thrive in the years ahead.

Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.

As an alumnus, this news made me very happy. I am thrilled and excited with what Mr. Pettit is doing there, and I hope that BJU continues in the direction it has been moving.

One question - how long has Steve Pettit been there? If the decision was made to pursue accreditation in 2011, then Steven Jones should get some credit too, I think.

"Our task today is to tell people — who no longer know what sin is...no longer see themselves as sinners, and no longer have room for these categories — that Christ died for sins of which they do not think they’re guilty." - David Wells